The X Factor (UK series 8)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The eighth series commenced airing on ITV on 20 August 2011 and ended on 11 December 2011. The winner was Little Mix, a four-piece girl group known earlier in the series as Rhythmix, consisting of members Jesy Nelson, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jade Thirlwall. They became the first act in the groups category to win in the UK show's history with new judge Tulisa emerging as their winning mentor, they beat singer James Harrison by just under 1,000 votes making it the closest final in the shows history. Harrison, a Belarusian-born singer, remained until 2018 the most successful foreign act until Jamaican Dalton Harris won. Dermot O'Leary presented the main show on ITV, while Caroline Flack and series 6 runner-up Olly Murs co-presented the spin-off show The Xtra Factor ''on ITV2, replacing Konnie Huq from the previous year. Louis Walsh returned to the judging panel and was joined by Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland and Tulisa. Barlow, Rowland and Tulisa joined the panel as replacements for former judges, Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole. Series 5 winner Alexandra Burke served as a guest judge for week 4 of the live shows due to Rowland having a throat infection. The series is often considered the best in the due to the tightness of the final voting and the success of both Little Mix and James Harrison afterwards. Little Mix are the shows most successful winners and Harrison is the shows most successful contestant. On 4 August 2011, promotional pictures of the judges surfaced across the internet. The next day, an advertisement premiered on itv.com. The show's opening titles were replaced with a completely revamped title sequence during the live shows to match those of its then-recently launched American counterpart. The final night episode of the show was marked as the Irish pop group Westlife's last live television performance together before the band split in 23 June 2012 until 2018. The eighth series won Most Popular Talent Show at the 17th National Television Awards on 25 January 2012. Finalists Live shows 'Results summary' 'Live show details' 'Week 1 (8/9 October) *Theme: Songs by British and American artists (billed as "Britain vs. America") *Musical guests: Matt Cardle ("Run for Your Life") and Cee Lo Green ("Satisfied/Forget You") *There was no public vote in the first week. Instead, each of the judges selected one of their own acts to eliminate. ;Judges' decisions to eliminate * Walsh: Jonjo Kerr – said he was the weakest performer in his category. * Barlow: James Michael – thought the other three boys had more star quality than Michael. * Tulisa: 2 Shoes – the decision came down to 2 Shoes and Nu Vibe, and Tulisa decided that Nu Vibe had more potential to improve. * Rowland: Amelia Lily – the decision came down to Amelia Lily and Sophie Habibis; while Rowland felt that Lily had more of a star quality, she conceded that Habibis had given the better performance. '''Week 2 (15/16 October) *Theme: "Love and heartbreak" *Group performance: "Hello" *Musical guests: The Wanted ("Lightning") and Katy Perry ("The One That Got Away") ;Judges' votes to eliminate * Barlow: Nu Vibe – gave no reason, though effectively backed his own act, Frankie Cocozza. * Rowland: Nu Vibe – gave no reason. * Tulisa: Frankie Cocozza – gave no reason, though effectively backed her own act, Nu Vibe. * Walsh: Nu Vibe – backed the act he believed had more potential. 'Week 3 (22/23 October)' *Theme: Rock *Musical guests: Kelly Clarkson ("Mr. Know It All"), Professor Green featuring Emeli Sandé ("Read All About It") and Bruno Mars ("Runaway Baby") ;Judges' votes to eliminate * Barlow: Sami Brookes – said that both acts were unbelievable, but felt that Brucknell was "more exciting" and Brookes was "dated". * Rowland: Sami Brookes – gave no reason. * Tulisa: Kitty Brucknell – thought Brookes had a better connection with her. * Walsh: Sami Brookes – avoided sending the result to deadlock and chose to go with his heart. 'Week 4 (29/30 October)' *Theme: Halloween *Group performance: "Bright Lights Bigger City" *Musical guests: Cher Lloyd ("With Ur Love") and Nicole Scherzinger ("Try with Me") Rowland did not appear on the judging panel for week 4 due to illness, so series 5 winner Alexandra Burke took her place on the panel. However, Burke did not vote on the results show; instead, Rowland voted via telephone link from Los Angeles. Rhythmix's new name 'Little Mix' took effect from Week 4. Ashley Baptiste from The Risk quit the group and Ashford Campbell who was originally in Nu Vibe (eliminated Week 2) joined The Risk. ;Judges' votes to eliminate *Walsh: Sophie Habibis – said that Misha B was a better performer. *Tulisa: Sophie Habibis – said she related more to Misha B as an artist. *Rowland: Sophie Habibis – felt that Misha B wanted it more. *Barlow was not required to vote since there was already a majority, but confirmed he would have eliminated Habibis. 'Week 5 (5/6 November)' *Theme: Club classics *Group performance: "Price Tag" *Musical guests : JLS ("Take a Chance on Me") and Florence and the Machine ("Shake It Out") *Two acts were eliminated from the series fifth results show. The three acts with the fewest public votes were announced as the bottom three and then the act with the fewest votes was automatically eliminated. The remaining two acts then performed in the final showdown and faced the judges' votes. ;Judges' votes to eliminate *Walsh: Johnny Robinson – said that Brucknell was more likely to succeed in the music industry. *Tulisa: Johnny Robinson – agreed with Walsh. *Rowland: Johnny Robinson – also agreed with Walsh, and added that she felt Brucknell had more of an "excitement factor". *Barlow was not required to vote since there was already a majority, but confirmed he would have eliminated Robinson. 'Week 6 (12/13 November)' *Theme: Songs by Lady Gaga or Queen (billed as "Lady Gaga vs. Queen") *Group performance: "Walking on Sunshine" *Musical guests: One Direction ("Gotta Be You") and Lady Gaga ("Marry the Night") On 8 November 2011, Frankie Cocozza was ejected from the competition. The four acts that did not face the public vote in week 1 and were eliminated by their mentors—Amelia Lily, James Michael, Jonjo Kerr, and 2 Shoes—faced the public vote and the act with the most votes would replace Cocozza. The winner of the vote was announced as Amelia Lily with 48% of the public vote. The show was also delayed by fifteen minutes due to a power fault at the BT Tower, the show's main relay device, so footage from the auditions stage was shown instead. ;Judges' votes to eliminate *Walsh: Misha Bryan – backed his own act, Kitty Brucknell. *Tulisa: Kitty Brucknell – said that after the show she would've bought Misha B's album. *Rowland: Kitty Brucknell – backed her own act, Misha B, who she felt had more potential in the competition. *Barlow: Kitty Brucknell – said that Misha B had more potential and he thought that Brucknell was not connecting with the audience since this was her third time in the bottom two. 'Week 7 (19/20 November)' *Theme: Songs from films (billed as "movie week") *Group performance: "When You're Gone" (with Bryan Adams) *Musical guests: Rebecca Ferguson ("Nothing's Real but Love") and Rihanna ("We Found Love") ;Judges' votes to eliminate *Barlow: Amelia Lily – backed his own act, Craig Colton, and said that Lily had "shouted her way" through the final showdown. *Rowland: Craig Colton – backed her own act, Amelia Lily, whom she said properly sang her survival song. *Tulisa: Amelia Lily – said that Colton sang better in the sing off. *Walsh: Craig Colton – said Lily was a ready made pop star and had so much potential. With both acts receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock, Craig Colton was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes. 'Week 8: Quarter-Final (26/27 November)' *Themes: Guilty pleasures; musical heroes *Group performance: "Wishing on a Star" (all finalists except Frankie Cocozza, along with JLS and One Direction) *Musical guests: Olly Murs and The Muppets ("Dance with Me Tonight") and Jessie J ("Who You Are") Starting in the quarter-final, each act performed two songs with voting lines opening after the first round of performances. ;Judges' votes to eliminate *Walsh: Janet Devlin – based on the performances across both of this week's shows. *Tulisa: Janet Devlin – based on the performances across both of this week's shows, and thought Misha B had more long-term potential. *Rowland abstained from voting as both her acts were in the bottom two, O'Leary warned Rowland this would mean Devlin would be eliminated as two judges voted against her, but Rowland still declined to vote. *Barlow was not required to vote since there was already a majority, but confirmed he would have eliminated Devlin. 'Week 9: Semi-Final (3/4 December)' *Themes: Motown; "songs to get you to the final" (no theme) *Group performance: "Hold On" *Musical guests: Justin Bieber ("Mistletoe") and Kelly Rowland ("When Love Takes Over" / "Down for Whatever" / "Commander") The semi-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Misha B, was automatically eliminated. After her elimination, Misha B reprised her week 6 final showdown performance of "Who You Are" as her exit song. 'Week 10: Final (10/11 December)' The final was held at Wembley Arena and lasted for over four hours, split over Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 December 2011. 10 December *Themes: No theme; mentor duets *Group performance: "Greatest Day" *Musical guests: JLS and One Direction ("She Makes Me Wanna" / "What Makes You Beautiful"), Michael Bublé ("Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)") and Leona Lewis ("Hurt") 11 December *Themes: Favourite performance ("song of the series"); Christmas songs; winner's single *Group performance: "We Found Love" / "Party Rock Anthem" / "On the Floor" / "Moves Like Jagger" / "The Edge of Glory" (all finalists except Frankie Cocozza who was replaced by Goldie Cheung and David Wilder) *Musical guests: Westlife ("What About Now") and Coldplay ("Charlie Brown" and "Paradise")